Martino’s

The Martino’s Story

‘Turn the lights off boys! We have a long day tomorrow and we need to be at our best. We have two big parties coming in and we have a lot of prepping to do so shut the lights off and get to sleep.’

So the lights went off in the basement of Martino’s on one of those nights in the early nineties, as the Linares family were starting up their restaurant in Somerville New Jersey. Spending many nights in the basement during the long restaurant weekends in those early days of Martino’s.

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Martino, the founder of Martino’s, battled his way to America from Colombia, with his wife and kids. First, with a brief stint in Miami, and then moving to New Jersey to start establishing himself in this foreign land, Martino began to dabble in the American restaurant business. He worked part time as a cook and at one point managing a failing pizza joint in a rough area of Jersey City.

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Martino who ran a successful nightclub restaurant in Colombia, had all the skills to run his own business when he came to America but decided to try and work for someone else at first.

His son Ronaldo recalls, “My father owned the best night club restaurant in Colombia it was actually located on Route North and it was in front of a cemetary.”

SOMERVILLE, N.J., July 7, 2017—This summer, grab your favorite treats and head out to Downtown Somerville to make family memories — or enjoy a romantic date night — watching movies under the stars.

The popular Somerville Starlit Cinema Series turns Division Street in the heart of town into an outdoor theater featuring classics, comedies, and even an Academy Award winner every Thursday night from July 13 to August 17. Shows are appropriate for all ages and start at 8:30 p.m.

There's a few certain words that I always enjoyed hearing and summer is one of them. Summer has such a feeling about it, the vacation, the longer days, the better body, the top down, the windows open, the sweet child of mine. The first day of summer (today) is what the solstice is, or "mid summer" is. I recall a mid summers nights dream and and reminds me of childhood memories (#2), Now and then (#3), I remember how long summer seemed, how free, how optimistic, how awesome and seemingly only concerned with what 100 degrees outside could possibly feel like.

My mind has never changed with that same feeling, however hidden or tucked away, its always redeemable with a nice plunge in to a semi cold ocean, under a threatening large wave, where you dive under come out on the other side staring at the bright blue sky (#4).

The sun rises to it highest altitude, as with the rest of the population and away to that special place (#5). For summer it just not only a state of mind but a place, a place that takes me away (#6), away or home I can sort it out either way, but for the moment somewhere else.

That little crisp from the sun, some sand on the way in, the hint of lotion, and an early after noon buzz may easily tell the tale of a quick summer, the days are long and the nights cool and calm, well calmer then you are.||

If it were 6:45 I'd have a long sleeve just in case, I probably haven't looked at the clock since 1:30ish....I can smell the fire fueling from the warm breeze smoking up an ever changing direction that I'd probably break down and cry #(7) from.